


You're My Poisoned Apple

by empyreanhyuck



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Attempt at Humor, Con Artists, Forgery, Heist, Light Angst, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Museums, Not Beta Read, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Slow Burn, Tags May Change, White Collar Crime, character tags will change - Freeform, lowkey inspired by white collar the show, they're rich and classy what can i say
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-16
Updated: 2020-10-16
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:08:06
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,091
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27035437
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/empyreanhyuck/pseuds/empyreanhyuck
Summary: Four years of running cons and gigs with a partner does something to you. Coincidentally that happens and a wild goose chase ensues in which Renjun, a well known thief, is on the search for his associate, well boyfriend, whilst evading capture from both law enforcement and a strange fellow.
Relationships: Huang Ren Jun/Mark Lee
Kudos: 3





	You're My Poisoned Apple

“ _Dearest Renjun_ , 

_Maybe I’m young minded_

_I didn’t want to get caught_

_A secret only I know_

_I’ll bury it here_

_(Love is a little hard) “_

* * *

  
  


A light brown haired male in his 20’s sat in front of several boards that lined the pearl colored walls while tightly clutching the note with the mysterious message on it. The boards were sporting various maps of cities, countries and one had the entire world on it, all of them had pins, sticky notes and notes written in whiteboard markers all over. There was a desk to his right with a half-empty fine wine bottle and an empty glass beside that. A metal cup holder with dozens of pens and paper clips, a long list of cities crossed off and files scattered everywhere. 

For several months, he was having a glorified manhunt for his associate, well boyfriend for a few months, who vanished without a trace. That was until he got the message in an origami crane in the mail last week which he was thankful that he did actually check the mail that week. Before that all hope was lost, he scoured every nook and cranny of Seattle then went international, scoping out cities from Seoul to Berlin. There were no leads as to where his location was, no credit cards, no phone numbers, nothing. It was like chasing the full moon in the night sky believing that it would move and you would eventually catch up to it, that was the exact feeling Renjun compared the situation to.

“Damn you Mark, four years of heists and cons to build up trust and when we do you leave,” he muttered under his breath angrily, all he felt lately was obviously anger, confusion and underlying guilt. Those four years were a rollercoaster, constant ups and downs while robbing just about every museum and art gallery in the region and splurging on each other. Renjun himself walked right into a play by Mark, either it was on purpose or he had no other choice but he wanted a definite answer soon. He was exhausted from following a dead end like he was the one running instead, it honestly hurt knowing that Mark was still out there, alive and not giving him a sign.

He stood up, crumpling up the origami paper and tossed it onto the desk as an attempt to take out his frustrations then left the room. There were two locks on the door which were quickly taken care of, Renjun didn’t need anyone snooping around his business. His penthouse was mostly a white, black and red combo with some sculptures and paintings scattered(though some were stolen). It was plenty enough space for Renjun to pace around and collect his thoughts. 

Renjun perked up upon hearing his doorbell ringing in a specific pattern, two dings right after then one drawn out ding. It was a code that he and his other associate used whenever they wanted to meet up. He rushed over and knocked back twice before swinging the door open to reveal a taller boy sporting a nasty nick on the side of his cheek. “Aw shit, come in,” he ushered the other in before checking both ends of the hallway then slammed the door, locking it in an instant. 

“Thanks but I’ve been ringing for the past few minutes. Your neighbors probably think I’m a crazy ex,” he found his way towards the dining table next to the spacious kitchen before yanking out a chair and sitting down. The beat up looking male waved Renjun over as if he owned the space and he was his guest but he obliged either way. 

The smaller of the two rubbed his temples, getting more irritated by the second, “Jeno, what kind of mess did you get yourself into? If it’s the feds you’re on your own. I already had enough heat from them so I don’t need more.” He squared his shoulders and straightened out his back before staring right at the red headed boy sitting at the opposite end from him. 

“Complicated relationship that’s all, just provide me with a roof over my head until I can sort it out,” Jeno brushed past the topic hastily before switching the subject, “Any progress with Mark?”

Renjun snorted and folded his arms over each other, his attention turned to the city skyline which was sort of mundane in the daytime but was absolutely stunning once night came around. “Nothing at all, at this point it’s just a giant middle finger pointing at me for even trying to find him. You’re right I _should’ve_ just moved on a long time ago.” 

The younger clicked his tongue in an ‘I-told-you-so’ fashion before getting up and helped himself to Renjun’s expensive wine collection. “Ooh, a bottle of 1994 Chateau d'Yquem, fancy but doesn’t really suit you,” Jeno looked behind him to see the other rolling his eyes to the back of his skull. He found a corkscrew in one of the drawers and popped the cork off before finding a neatly stored wine glass in a cabinet then poured himself a generous helping of the wine. 

“At this point just move in,” Renjun suggested innocently.

Jeno shook his head rapidly, quickly vetoing the proposal, “No, no, no, I think you’re perfectly fine on your own and you like your privacy so...” The brown haired boy shrugged before getting up and headed towards a particular bookshelf and selected the book, _A Study in Scarlet,_ and opened it to exactly page 74. There was a silver antique key slotted in a carved out space exactly the size of the key so it was snuggly squeezed in. It was a stupidly complicated process of making the slot in the first place and it was merely for vanity and to kill the time. 

“We got a job offer to steal a painting and replace it with a forgery, the offer still stands for a few days then we have a week and a half time-frame to get everything together. Initial pay is around $650,000.” The taller informed while watching Renjun felt around for another key hidden in the wall where the bookshelf was.

“I don’t get why you bother to even hide two different keys for your room full of forgeries and artworks. It’s as if someone’s going to get through your front door anyways,” he looked at Renjun with pure confusion. The room was well hidden and was handcrafted by Renjun himself when he was feeling extra paranoid a few years ago since that was when he started to be on the radar. 

“One can never be too careful,” he responded simply, he found the compartment and flicked the small cover off and grabbed the key. “Oh, and that job offer sounds tempting seeing as I need to take my mind off of some matters.” Renjun motioned for Jeno to follow him upstairs towards his study. 

“In case you’re curious, the client is a stockbroker who hoards priceless pieces of art in her spare time. Her name is Ivy Salinas or something like that.”

“How much are we getting out of it?”

“Depends how much she fences it for including the $650 grand that we’re getting initially.” They continued discussing the job and decided if they wanted to take it on the way up to his study. The door squeaked open and Renjun made a mental note to himself to grease the door hinges later. 

The two worked together to push aside a tall metal cabinet to reveal a door that barely compensated for Jeno’s height. Renjun inserted the first key, hearing almost inaudible clicks before turning the lock then proceeded with the second key. The locks were custom made so that any thief even at his skill level couldn’t break into his precious valuables and carbon copies of various artworks. 

“So you still have that Grecian dress you stole from that one store?” Jeno chuckled, peeking his head in the attic like-room littered with God knows what. There was chinaware neatly stacked in one corner whilst multiple copies of world famous paintings sat in the middle, a canvas with a half-drawn Hercules’ statue plastered on it and a casing with glistening jewels. 

“I didn’t want to get rid of it while spring cleaning, now I just need that rendition of _Bridge Over a Pond of Waterlilies_ , I figured it would look great above the fireplace mantel.” Renjun crawled in and carefully tip-toed around, being cautious to not step on the bits and pieces of his collection. 

“You brought me up here just for that?” 

“It is a 36.5 by 29 inch painting so care to help me?” He replied back with a note of sarcasm, his eyes lit up once he found the exact thing he was looking for and started to haul it out of the tight space. The red haired male didn’t have any other option so he gingerly picked up the painting from the opposite end and held it up while Renjun locked the doors and shoved the cabinet back in its place.

It took awhile for the two of them to successfully get down the stairs without strings of curses and shuffling in fear of dropping the painting--even if it was a faux. They quickly hung it above the fireplace but it took some adjusting because Renjun complained it was too far to the left or right. Sure it was a bit large for the fireplace but it fit in just well considering the general aesthetics of his living room. 

“So, when’s the meeting with this Ivy Salinas person?”

Jeno took a moment to recall as the woman had approached him sometime last week but quickly remembered, “Tomorrow, 12pm sharp at Denny Park, it’s just an interest check but I think it’s clear we’ll be taking the job.” 

Renjun admired the beauty of the soft colors of the painting before returning the keys back to where they belonged. “You haven’t told me the piece we’re robbing yet so spill.” Though with a quick overview he could assume they would be grabbing a painting that had some zeros attached on the value. 

“ _Winter Landscape on the Banks of the Seine_ , it’s going to be virtually impossible to grab it from the Seattle Art Museum,” the taller slid his hands in his front pockets, pursing his lips as if debating on something. 

“Would you be able to whip up a forgery in time and how would you feel about dragging Yangyang into this?” 

Renjun froze up at the mention of the other before blubbering a jumble of words and phrases in about three different languages, “No, no! He left me to die back in Denver _and_ to throw salt on the wound he stole back the Grecian pottery collection I wanted to fence!” He exclaimed, clearly distressed about the humiliating memory that unfortunately still lingered.

“Well you did something to make him pissed before the series of unfortunate woes,” Jeno pointed out, “Okay but like it or not he’s coming with us, the heist isn’t a two man job.” Sadly, Renjun had to agree but on very specific terms that didn’t result in him getting thrown off a rooftop by Yangyang who would gladly do so without question. 

“Get me a canvas, frame and paint from 1904 and I’ll make do,” he sighed, “Now make yourself comfy since you just got kicked out by your fling or whatever I’m going to find where this son of a bitch is.” 

“You mean your boyfriend, I mean ex-boyfriend?” Jeno corrected though Renjun didn’t seem too amused, “I thought you said you were going to give up like ten minutes ago.” 

“Well I want answers and I still have faith that he vanished for a good reason and then in the case I do find him again I want to strangle him then hug him.” He seriously was tired of running in circles in his head while trying for an explanation but his gut told him to persevere and keep going. Renjun was really starting to miss the simple little tricks they would play against each other as a way to bond. 

The other gave him a comforting eye-smile though mostly out of pity, “Wonderful, I’ll go through the trouble of trying to contact ‘Double Y’ to see if he wants in, if not then you should consider it a miracle.” 

“A miracle that I need or I’ll end up losing my head, figuratively and legitimately.”

  
  


* * *

**Author's Note:**

> the letter is from one of nct dream's lyrics see if you can find which song might be slow updates because of school weekly-biweekly at most and uh my twitter is @empyreanhyuck i guess


End file.
